Family Reunion
---After more than two years, the Pavus Family would finally reunite. Klara Pavus, CEO of Pavus Industries and professional duelist was the one who had proposed the reunion, and as such it would be held at one of her mansions in Japan.Michael parked his car in the massive parking lot, his boyfriend in the Passenger seat, and his best friend in the back. “Alright, don’t be nervous or anything. Klara doesn’t bite…usually.” he said, exiting the car and opening the door for Shane. He made his way towards the front door, locking his car as he did so. Once his companions were close by, he knocked on the door. Almost instantly after, it opened and revealed a bearded man in a suit. “Welcome, Sir Pavus.” he said, referring to Michael. “Master Klara is awaiting you and your guests in the dining room.” he stated, guiding the group through the maze of a mansion.Countless diamond engraved objects could be seen, the value of the objects seen within the first five seconds of entering the house was more than most people would make in a lifetime. As they walked into the dining room, the group would hear a squeal of excitement. “Oh my god! You guys look great in those outfits,” she began, referring to the suits the boys were wearing and the dress that Casey adorned. “Totally worth the $10,000 I dropped for those.” She lead them to their seats, Klara taking a position at the head of the able, Michael immediately beside her and the others beside Michael. “Zach’s coming in a bit. Said he was running late, due to public transit issues. I offered to send a limo, but he said he was fine.” she ranted. “Oh, where are my manners? I haven’t introduced myself to the pink-haired one.” She stretched her arm out towards Casey, offering a handshake. “I’m Klara Pavus, Mikey’s older sister.” she said, clasping her hand and shaking it. She sat back down and looked at the trio. “What would guys like to have for starters?” she asked. “I can get you basically anything you’d like to eat.” ---- He'd known from what Michael had told him that Klara had money, but as they were escorted into the...house...no, it was more like an actual mansion, he was beginning to realize just how much. Truthfully, Shane felt rather intimidated by that, given the background he'd come from. Broke New York City foster care boys didn't walk around in suits like the one he was wearing, that much was certain. Shane made a mental note to thank Klara again in private as soon as he got a moment alone with her; he didn't want to call attention to it and make things awkward. As he took his seat next to Michael, he glanced down at his pale hand, noting the promise ring. It was a sight that would take some getting used to, in that he had to remind his heart not to pound like crazy when he saw it. Yeah, it was definitely weirder than he thought it would be, being around Klara so soon after that duel. Losing as badly as he had, in front of such a huge audience, had wounded him more than he wanted to admit. Michael had cheered up in the immediate aftermath, but as soon as he was alone again, he'd started overthinkig. To his surprise, nobody had had much to say about his defeat. All he could hope was that he didn't appear weak in their eyes now. Klara's question was enough to snap him out of his thoughts. "Um...fruit?" he replied somewhat timidly. It was weird, but he had a sincere love of fruit. ---- Casey still felt bad that the woman she'd flirted with so openly a few nights ago had turned out to be Michael and Zach's sister. Talk about awkward as fuck. What was worse was that now that she was aware of who Klara was, she could see the physical resemblance to Michael and Zach, which was...unsettling, though perhaps not as unsettling as her surroundings. Klara's place was a literal damn mansion, and it was cool as all hell. How someone as young as Klara had this kind of money, she wasn't sure, but it was impressive, and normally she wasn't one to get impressed by money. One thing she knew, though, was that there was no way all of this had come from just dueling earnings. Even for a pro of Klara's caliber, that would be absurd. To her left was Shane, who, truth be told, she felt a bit bad for. Watching him get beaten that thoroughly was hard for her, as it had to have been for the rest of his friends, but her close relationship with Shane was only part of why she felt bad. Casey knew firsthand how good Shane really was, having never once managed to beat him. It was a testament to how freakishly talented Klara was that she was able to wipe the floor with the lovably annoying blonde. "Oh, damn, um. Uh...surprise me?" ---- Klara nodded, snapping her fingers. "Bouchard! Can you get us some fruit and...Pappardelle with Sea Urchins?" she called out. Despite seeming like a question, it was a definitive order. "Yes, Master Klara." Bouchard, her butler, responded, bowing as he headed into the kitchen. "You'll just love the Pappardelle. Bouchard is an excellent chef!" Michael scoffed. "Can't believe the old buggers still alive. He was ancient back when we were kids, and still is," he observed, running a hand through his hair. "Not complaining of course, the guys a fuckin' magnificent chef." Klara giggled, a smile on her face. "You're just as brash as you were when we were kids, Mikey!" she said, giggling soon after. Before Klara could continue talking, a pair of individuals showed up at the table. Zach waved at everyone. Beside him, holding his hand was someone none of them had seen before. "Hey everyone, sorry we're late. The bus driver didn't believe I was related to you, Klara," he said, sitting down next to Casey, the unknown girl sitting next to him. Michael raised an eyebrow. "Who's the girl?" he asked. "Oh," Zach began. "She's my..." "I'm his girlfriend." she said, interrupting Zach. "Nice to meet you all, my name is Marie." Zach sighed in relief, feeling as if an ice cube that had been stuck in his back had finally thawed away. "Yeah, Marie's my girlfriend. We having Pappardelle for starters?" he asked, obviously familiar with what Klara had ordered. Klara nodded. "Of course, I know Mikey loved it. So do you and Roxy." Zach groaned. "Don't mention that idiot. I'm glad she's still in England studying," he spat. Marie laughed, obviously familiar with the disdain that Zach felt towards this 'Roxy'. ---- "Michael," Shane hissed, gently elbowing his boyfriend in the ribs. "Come on, don't be like that. You know better." Beside him, Casey was giggling, finding Michael's comment amusing. "Really? Et tu, Casey?" "Um, yeah. It was funny. Lighten up, porcupine head." The pink haired girl reached over and playfully tugged at a bit of Shane's hair, causing the blonde to swat her hand away in joking annoyance. "If you say so." The friends' bickering was interrupted by the arrival of one Zachary, and his mysterious female companion who appeared to be his age. Wait, Shane thought to himself, I've never seen this kid before...who is she? Casey, on the other hand, smirked knowingly. She had a feeling she was about to win her bet with Michael. Funny thing was, she couldn't care less about going shopping, Casey just loved the satisfaction of being right. It was quite nice. As Zach's girlfriend (Casey shot a smug look at Michael, mouthing 'I win' at him) introduced herself, Shane smiled and waved cheerfully at her. "Nice to meet you, too, Marie. I'm Shane." He caught sight of Casey's expression, looking back at Michael in exasperation. What were they up to now? Did their shenanigans ever end? "Wait. I have a question. Who's Roxy?" the blonde asked timidly, hardly speaking up. ---- "Roxy's my twin sister," Zach answered Shane, the boy looking disgusted. "Worst person you'll ever meet. Like a walking blob of radioactive trash." Klara shook her head. "Why are you always so mean towards Roxy, Zachy? You guys are twins." "Cats and dogs are both animals. Whats your point?" the brown-haired boy said, challenging Klara's previous statement. Marie sighed, gently swatting Zach's head. "Don't always have to be so mean to someone, ya know?" she said, looking around the table. "Do you wanna introduce me to everyone, Zach?" Zach nodded, "Yeah, of course," he began. "Pink hair girl's Casey, my best friend. Porcupine-head's Shane, a really cool dude. Michael's the one with blue hair and Klara's the one at the head of the table. She's a Pro Duelist." Marie raised a brow. "Really, you can go Pro with Duel Monsters? I didn't know that." she murmured, looking around. "So is everyone here a duelist?" ---- Shane fought hard to contain his laughter over Zach's characterization of his twin. It was more funny than he wanted to admit, given how brutal it was. "Ouch," he mumbled under his breath, a hint of a giggle escaping. He wondered if Zach's twin was as talented as her siblings. Michael, Zach, and Klara...they were all so amazing. Part of him wondered if it was genetic, if their parents were as great as they all were. "For the record, my hair is soft and nothing like a porcupine's quills," he spoke up. "Nice to meet you." Reaching over and petting Shane's hair, Casey mused, "Actually, I gotta agree. You just need to lay off the volumizer, big hair." ignoring the irritated look that she got from Shane, Casey added, "Ditto what Shane said, by the way, Marie." Heh, it was pretty funny to her still. Michael had been so sure that Zach didn't have a girlfriend, that he couldn't get one, but Casey had believed in the odd one. "Yeah, we are," Shane confirmed. "I'm an Elemental HERO duelist, and Casey here runs a Galaxy-Photon deck." ---- "As for me, my Archetype's kinda weird. It's the Red Archetype," Michael continued on from where Shane had left off. "I'm sure you know Zach uses that hybrid Odd-Eyes and Performapal deck. You duel, Marie?" The white-haired girl nodded. "I do, only on my free time. Zach helped me built the deck, and I got the hang of it pretty quickly." "She's being modest, she could easily join the top ranks of Ra Yellow," Zach interjected. It wasn't merely an attempt to compliment Marie, it was fact. Much like Michael, Zach was a very honest and blunt individual. Marie blushed. "Thanks. I use a Fire Fist deck. I like the artwork mainly. I don't have a lot of free time, 'cause of the programs I take at school, but I'll spend that time with Zach." Zach chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's pretty busy with the whole early university courses, but she's a genius. Great at school, great person, great duelist," he said, listing off compliments for Marie. She giggled, swatting Zach. "Stop it. You're embarrassing me," she hissed, swatting Zach playfully. "Sorry for thinking you're great," he replied sarcastically. "You can compliment me when it's just us, ya know?" she responded. Just then, Bouchard returned, balancing six plates on one arm; five plates of pappardelle with sea urchins and a bowl of fruit. Bouchard quickly slid the plates across the table, gracefully and efficiently. As quickly as he had arrived, he left. "Dig in, everyone!" Klara announced, the three Pavus siblings beginning to devour their food in unison. ---- Yeah, Michael's Red deck was no joke. It was a deck built around summoning the strongest of his Archfiend Extra Deck monsters at a breakneck pace, and that summoning speed was often what won Michael duels, to say nothing of his resourcefulness. Of the students at Duel Academy, Michael's deck was one of the fastest, rivaled only by...himself, Zach, and Casey, really. There was a reason why all of them were known as top duelists in the school. Petty sibling rivarly was the only reason Zach wasn't in Obelisk. He would know, because he'd been asked previously if he would administer Zach's promotion exam, but Zach hadn't wanted to take it. Sometihng about him not wanting to be associated with Michael too heavily, wanting to forge his own reputation. He could understand that, he guessed, though only to an extent. Casey got it a bit better than he did, since Casey actually had a younger sibling. "You guys are too cute," Casey mused. "Oh yeah, Marie. If you ever want to duel, I'd be up for that." Wanting to test others was in her nature, after all. Zach seemed to believe in Marie's skill; Casey wanted to see it firsthand, if she could. Making his plate before passing the fruit bowl over to Casey so she could do the same, Shane looked over at Klara. "How long have you been a pro for?" he inquired curiously. "I'd love to go pro myself, once I'm done with the Academy and in college." ---- Marie giggled as Zach tickled her for the sassy statement she had said before. She swatted Zach's hand aside, turning towards Casey. "That'd be fun. I'm not the best at it, I started last year only. And I don't really have much free time to practise," she began. "So sorry if I--" "She's pretty good, despite her self-deprecation about her dueling skills," Zach interjected. "I don't know how'd she fair against Casey, she might get completely wrecked." "How kind of you, compliment and then insult me," Marie said, turning her head sharply away forom Zach. "Marie. Don't be like that," he responded. There was silence, before she spun back around, winking at Zach. "Got ya! I'd say 'you should have seen the look on your face', but I didn't get to see it." Klara laughed as the young couple bantered with each other. She was brought back to the present as Shane asked her a question. Me? I've been pro for...almost seven years actually!" Klara responded cheerfully. "Dueling's always been a passion of mine, so when I was offered a chance to be pro, I took it!" ---- Casey waved Zach off dismissively. "Hey, if she does, she does. You know what, though? I bet she'll learn from it, just like I'd learn from it if she beat me. Getting wrecked sometimes gives us the wake-up call we need to improve." The pink-haired girl glanced over at her friend Shane pointedly, who rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. The blonde joined in the others' amusement at Marie's little dig at Zach, snickering. "So...what's it like, exactly? I know all the details like getting paid a salary based on international ranking and all that, on top of prize money, but like... What's the day to day like? I know there's a ton of travel involved, too." Hey, it wasn't every day he got to ask questions like this of a pro, so he figured he should take advantage of the opportunity. ---- "You guys should duel. It'd be fun." Zach said. Marie nodded. "I'd like to duel your friend. Seems like it'd be fun!" Zach nodded. "Casey's deck is a pain in the ass to deal with, with her damn rapid swarming. Maybe not as fast as Michael's or Shane's, but still annoying. That Prime Photon Dragon is a pain to deal with." "Day to day life? Well, I can't speak for everyone, but my life is hectic. I think this is the eighth time in my entire career as a pro that I've had time off." she began. "We do have to travel a lot, especially me. I'm heading to Spain in two days, and I'll be meeting up with Roxy there." ---- Casey grinned. "My Prime Photon Dragon is my favorite, thank you very much. Not that he's the only pain in the ass that my deck features, of course." There were plenty of cards in her deck that were difficult to hurdle over....but Zach knew that. "Spain?! Aw, that's pretty cool. I'm guessing it'd have to be for a tournament or something, right?" That was the only thing made any sense to him, unless Klara was traveling for some personal reason that had nothing to do with dueling. "I'd love to be able to travel, if I'm honest." ---- Klara nodded. "It's always for a tournament," she responded. "This'll be the twelfth or thirteenth time I'm heading to Spain. It's pretty nice there." she finished, looking around the table. "Say, Mikey. Do you wanna duel?" "Nope," he responded sharply. "I don't wanna duel you, I probably can't win." "Oh don't be like that, Mikey," she responded, pouting. Marie spoke up. "I'd like to duel someone. Today or later, except for Zach and Klara. I've dueled Zach enough times, and Klara's far out of my league from what I've heard." ---- Shane had had a feeling that Michael wasn't going to be up for challenging Klara. His response didn't surprise Shane in the least. To his right, Casey was reiterating her offer to duel Marie, but the blonde wasn't listening. Instead, the gears in his head were turning, and almost on impulse, he met Klara's eyes. "I'll duel you in Michael's place, if a rematch interests you." ---- "It doesn't," she responded casually. "Sorry for being blunt, but I don't think anything will have changed from now and four hours ago. Maybe sometime in the future, we'll duel again." Michael shook his head at Klara, grabbing an apple from Shane's fruit bowl. "Don't have to be so blunt, Klare-bear." he said, using his pet name for his older sister. "If I'm correct, you've become just as blunt." she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. Marie looked around, almost letting out a burp as she finished her meal. Zach on the other hand belched loudly, not having had paid attention to the world while he was eating. "That was good!" he exclaimed. Marie swatted him on the head. "Excuse yourself for burping next time." "Excuse me for undergoing a bodily function," he responded sarcastically, which earned an eye roll and a smirk from Marie. ---- Despite the anger at Klara's comment burning inside of him, he decided to just remain silent. Nothing positive would come of speaking, so instead he picked sullenly at a bit of fruit. "Zach, I don't think that was necessary, dude," Casey teased. She decided to pointedly ignore the exchange between Shane and Klara. After all, she knew Shane well enough to know when he was mad, and that look in his eye was a dead give-away. ---- Zach rolled his own eyes mockingly at Marie, and then turned towards Casey. "So is talking, but that doesn't stop us." he retorted. It was hard to imagine that only months ago that Zach was a shy and quiet person. Ever since meeting Casey, he had become more extroverted, and his sass was increasing every minute. Marie giggled at Zach's little outburst of sass. "Zachary, don't be so sassy." she said. "Why not?" he asked. In response, Marie whispered something into his ear, and he turned beet red. "Y-Yeah. I'll stop." he managed to say. Klara looked around the table, smiling. "How's everyone enjoying the food?" ---- "Hardy har har," Casey replied sarcastically, quirking an eyebrow at Zach. He was much more assertive and snarky these days, and it was impossible not to notice. Casey couldn't help but wonder if that was her influence at work. Either way, she was proud of Zach for coming out of his shell. It was a nice development. "It's great, thanks, Klara." Shane nodded his agreement to Casey's left, but the blonde was lost in thought and didn't much feel like talking. ---- Mike interlaced his hand with Shane's own, giving it quick squeeze. "Man, I never would have guess that Zach would have gotten a girlfriend. You used to be so shy and--" Marie broke out laughing. "I-I'm sorry." she said, wiping away a tear. "Zach? Shy? He's so brash and crazy. He literally threw a bagel into my class one time. And he doesn't even go to my school!" Mike chuckled. "Well, Zach was really shy. I think Casey's Casey-ness rubbed off of on him. He's more sarcastic and extroverted nowadays. More confident too." ---- Shane looked down as Michael took his hand, smiling happily. He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his boyfriend's cheek, noting that Michael always seemed to make him feel better. "Probably," Casey mused. "I've noticed that, too. Dunno if it's a good thing that I'm rubbing off on Zach, but hey, at least he's coming out of his shell." ---- Zach rolled his eyes. "Yeah, came out of my shell or whatever." he murmured. Klara looked around the group, seeing the varying expressions. "What would you guys like for the main meal?" ---- "Hm..." Shane pondered the question for a moment, as Casey spaced out beginning to look through her deck. "Um... Steak, I guess?" ---- "Steak it is!" Klara announced. "Bouchard, bring us some Grade AAA steak! Cooked well, of course!" Mike rolled his eyes. "I can't imagine freakin' Bouchard having to heave around that giant steak. It weighs how much again? 13 kg? And there's seven of us, so he's gonna have to carry 91 kg of meat? I...should probably go carry it for him." he said, standing from his seat and following after Bouchard. Zach chuckled. "Back when we were kids, Mike was always asked to carry the heavy stuff. Mom assumed it'd fit him best, cause of his passion for boxing, so he was a lot more fit than the rest of us." Klara nodded. "I haven't seen him box in some time, does he still practise, Shane?" she asked, directing the question to Shane, assuming that as Mike's boyfriend, he'd know better than anyone else if he still did. ---- That got Casey's attention. "Wait," she interjected, looking up from her cards. Galaxy Soldier was still in her hand. "Mike used to box? I didn't know that. That's interesting." Next to her, Shane nodded. "Yeah, he did. It was his passion as a kid." One that he'd gotten rather good at, too. "He does still practice," the blonde added, answering Klara's inquiry. ---- Klara nodded. "Does he still use that green and red sandbag of his for practise?" she asked. Zach rolled his eyes. "I'd be surprised if he did. It was all worn out before he started dueling, especially after he dropped it from the top of our skyscraper." Klara laughed. "That was fun, it broke through a parked car." "Wouldn't have been as fun for the guy in there." Zach retorted. "He only broke his collarbone." Klara responded, blowing a raspberry at Zach after. ---- "Only broke his collarbone," Casey repeated, dying laughing. Yeah, she enjoyed Klara's sense of humor. It wasn't too far off from her own. "Damn it, now I'm like twice as attracted to you, Klara. Totally unfair." Pretending to pout briefly, she reached over and tugged at Shane's hair. "Ow, what the fuck, Casey?" he groaned, glaring at his friend. "Um, I know you, you were about to be a killjoy and I figured I would distract you from doing so." Rolling his eyes, the blonde silently admitted that she was right. He was indeed about to point out how it wasn't cool to laugh at others' misfortunes. ---- Mike jogged back into the room. "Sorry that took so long, Bouchard had me carry some more stuff with the box." he said, sitting down next to Shane after giving him a kiss on the forehead. "What did I miss?" Zach snickered. "The Sandbag incident." he responded. Mike sucked in air sharply. "Why'd you have to bring that up? Bad memories ya know, my sandbag got damaged." he said, obviously ignoring the fact about the broken collarbone. Klara raised a brow. "But what about the guy who broke his coll--" "Like I said," Mike began, interrupting Klara. "The only important thing that got damaged was my sandbag." ---- Shane smiled as Michael's lips pressed against his forehead, and the smile only grew brighter as Michael sat back down next to him. "Well, now, hey. C'mon. The guy did break a bone." He kinda felt sorry for this stranger. Breaking your collarbone had to hurt. "It's still funny, though," Casey muttered under her breath, snickering. Of course, she felt bad for the guy, but that wasn't going to stop her from laughing at him nonetheless.